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Martin Browne Combines a Corporate and Education Background to Build a Successful Tutoring Business

“It was important to me to be part of a business that shared my values. In Tutor Doctor, I found just that; a business with serious earning potential and a strong moral compass. I’m proud to be building a profitable business whilst helping to improve the lives of children across Edinburgh as I do.”

Martin Browne has been running his Tutor Doctor franchise in Edinburgh since October 2016. In less than six months, he’s already become a respected and valued member of the Tutor Doctor franchise family, surpassed his original targets and positively impacted the lives of the 40+ families he’s worked with.

After graduating from Edinburgh University with an MA in History, Martin began what was to become a dazzling career! From the House of Lords to launching his own cutting-edge internet company, Martin’s flair for business did not go unnoticed. A chance encounter with an Oxfordshire entrepreneur led him to his first (and impressive!) involvement in the education industry.

“I started working with a language school in Oxford and very quickly ended up running several divisions of it! The owner was capitalising on the market at the time and I helped him to acquire a selection of language schools across the globe. I spent 3 months in San Francisco before returning home to manage the 16 UK schools in the portfolio. By the end, I had about 100 staff reporting directly to me and was responsible for between 500 and 600 teachers.”

After four years in the role, Martin decided it was time for a new challenge and he spent the next five years running a successful insurance software company in London. But as is so often the case, corporate politics became all-consuming and, increasingly frustrated, Martin felt a desire to return to a career that was more rewarding. In what he describes as a ‘right-place, right-time; moment, Martin discovered the Tutor Doctor opportunity online and the rest, as they say, is history!

“I’d done the ‘starting a business from scratch’ thing a couple of times before and I just didn’t want to go down that route again. When I came across the Tutor Doctor franchise I realised it was the best of both worlds; something that is really worthwhile and essentially your own business, but one where all the groundwork and development of systems and processes has been done for you!”

Tutor Doctor is the fastest growing in-home tutoring franchise in the world. Franchisees operate at the heart of their local communities, helping children to grow in confidence and ability. They thoroughly asses a child’s needs and then carefully select the best-fit tutor based on goals, personality and learning level. Instead of the traditional centre-based model, tutors visit students at home, at a time that is convenient for them. Tutor Doctor franchisees arrange and oversee the tutor/student relationship for a truly bespoke solution and exceptional level of service.

As you would expect from an experienced businessman, Martin’s due diligence was thorough. This included online research, several meetings with members of the Tutor Doctor team and speaking to existing franchisees. Convinced that his own personal experience and the support offered by the franchise made for a perfect fit, Martin signed his agreement in June 2016 and headed off to Toronto for training!

“It was important that the franchise wasn’t just a money-making machine – it had to share my values and really care about something. Having gone to Canada and met the people involved you see it comes from the top down, everyone has that belief. I’ve seen it – it’s what I wanted it to be.

“The training in Toronto was very thorough – I enjoyed seeing, even at that stage, how I could develop the business in my region. Although I have to say I’m following the manual to the letter because that’s the proven way to build the business - it’s quite refreshing!”

After launch Tutor Doctor franchisees are actively supported across all areas of the business through structured training programmes, weekly coaching calls, weekly global calls and on-demand support as needed. As your business grows, there are specifically designed support systems to help you continue growth, build momentum and ultimately scale your business to help you achieve your financial and personal goals.

“Plugging into online calls and marketing materials has been really useful and it comes instantly without you having to ask. I haven’t really needed much support to be honest because I’m quite self-sufficient but I do know that there’s plenty there if I reach out for it.”

At 54 you’d be forgiven for thinking that Martin might have been looking to slow the pace down, but for this dynamic business owner, that was never on the cards! With his values and professional aspirations now perfectly aligned, Martin is now happily focusing on not just his own future, but those of all his students too!

“I’ve no intention of this being a gentle, lifestyle business for me. I’m ambitious, always have been, and my intention is to build the business and sell it in five to six years for a healthy profit. I’ve already hit all my original targets so I know I’m on track even after six months.”

“For what I think is the first time in a good number of years, I’m in a business that is about more than money – it’s about the difference you make in young people’s lives. I’ve seen it first-hand with the students I work with. We provide much more than improved grades; learning improves self-confidence, happiness, gives students a feeling of control over their own destiny - and it makes it all worthwhile.”

Martin has one or two final thoughts for at the start of their franchising journey: “One of the biggest advantages for me is that you simply couldn’t set up this level of business on your own for this cost. I get people coming to me because they say they’ve heard of the business and visited the website, which is full of great reviews, and they feel it’s the best they’ve seen. On top of that, Tutor Doctor does feel like a family – I feel like I’m part of an ethical, responsible and genuinely decent franchise.”